His Story
Who was James?
James was the youngest of a large, close family — nineteen brothers and sisters. He lived with his mother and sisters, stayed close to his father and extended family, and was described by nearly everyone who knew him the same way: kind, respectful, and devoted to the people in his life.
In the years before his death, James was in a relationship that worried the people around him. Friends and family watched his girlfriend fabricate illnesses, fake pregnancies and miscarriages, and manipulate those closest to her. James stayed. He was committed to her, and he adored her children.
The weeks before
- April 13
His girlfriend tells James that doctors have found holes in her heart, undiagnosed since birth, and that she has a month to live. She says she is pregnant, and that the baby will have to be removed.
- April 15
Believing her, James drives her and her children from Milwaukee to Mississippi so she can spend her remaining time with her mother. He then returns to Wisconsin.
- That same month
She tells other people different versions of the story. Some hear she has three months to live. Others are told that James has been beating her — and that his abuse is what is killing her.
- April 28
James takes a bus back to Mississippi to be with her. He stays with her and her mother at the Mace Apartments in Metcalfe.
The disappearance
According to his girlfriend and her mother, James walked out the back door around 1 p.m. on May 8 after an argument about filling a kiddie pool for the children, and never came back.
The mother says her daughter left for Memphis almost immediately afterward and refused to share any way of reaching James’ family. It was the mother, not the girlfriend, who reported him missing the next day.
The phone call that never happened
While James was missing, a worried neighbor went to the girlfriend. She told them not to worry — she had spoken with James’ mother, and James had called home saying he was in the woods, near water, planning to end his life.
James’ mother says that call never happened. The two women did not speak at all until after his body was found — in almost exactly the kind of place the story described.
He had plans
James showed no signs of wanting to end his life. He planned to pick up his ID the day he was found. He had just landed a new job, had a haircut booked for the next day, and was set to move into his own apartment later that week.